Built 1938–40 Lost 6 sunk, 2 scuttled Beam 8.62 m | Completed 12 Length 84.3 m | |
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Displacement 844 tons standard, 1,088 tons full load (Schichau)
839 tons standard, 1082 tons full load (Deschimag) | ||
The Type 35 torpedo boats (German: Flottentorpedoboot "Fleet Torpedo Boat") were small naval vessels built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine between 1939 and 1942. They were designed to exploit a clause in the Washington Naval Treaty, which stipulated that ships under 600 tons standard displacement did not count towards limited tonnages. They did however grow in size to 845 tons standard tonnage. Their primary intention was to produce a seaworthy torpedo craft larger and more heavily armed than a Schnellboot. Being somewhat of a hybrid, they were larger than a typical torpedo boat, but smaller and weaker than a typical destroyer of the era, being closer in size to a Kaibōkan or destroyer escort, but with powerful offensive torpedo armament and very weak gun armament. They were replaced by the larger Elbing-class torpedo boat, which was larger and more powerful, but still weaker than a normal destroyer. These ships fought in the North Sea, English Channel and Baltic Sea. They were not considered very successful, their weak gun armament was disliked and the machinery was unreliable and difficult to repair. They also had relatively poor seakeeping and a weak bridge structure.
General characteristics
The requirements for the 1935 class included a maximum "declared" displacement of around 600 tons in order to come within a clause in the Washington Naval Treaty, and higher speeds than the older 1923 and 1924 classes. In reality these ships came in overweight at around 900 tons standard displacement. To achieve this, high pressure turbines were used but these were unreliable and difficult to repair and maintain in the restricted space of the hull. The low displacement made them unseaworthy which was only partially resolved by 1940 and this reduced the effectiveness of the class as minelayers. There was an even greater concentration on torpedoes, with a single 10.5 centimetre gun and minimal anti-aircraft protection.
Twelve 1935s were built, six at Schichau, Elbing and six at Deschimag, Bremen; there were minor differences between the two groups. Six were sunk, and two others scuttled, by the end of the war. Of the survivors, three were transferred abroad as war reparations and the last was scrapped in Germany.